Hamzad's Unbeaten 134 off 38 Balls Powers CC to Victory Over Cyclone

Calcutta Challengers produced one of the most extraordinary run chases in recent local cricket memory to beat Cyclone by 3 wickets, overhauling a challenging target of 197 in just 11.2 overs. CC were set the target after Cyclone’s Paul Zomi blasted an astonishing 83 not out off 23 balls to drag his side to 196/9 despite CC’s bowlers taking nine wickets. Walking out to open the chase, Hamzad then produced an innings that defies rational description: 134 not out off 38 balls, 16 sixes, 8 fours, a strike rate of 352.63. He did not just win the match for Calcutta Challengers. He dismantled it. This was Hamzad’s match from the moment he took guard — a one-man siege that left Cyclone, their bowlers, and everyone watching in stunned disbelief.

First Innings: Cyclone’s Batting — Paul Zomi Keeps Them Alive

Cyclone’s innings was a tale of top-order collapse followed by a one-man rescue mission. CC’s bowlers struck early and consistently, reducing the opposition to 84/7 by the 7th over — a position from which virtually no team recovers in a 13-over format. Only Rajan Singh (19), Kapil Kumar (23) and Aftab (26) offered any meaningful resistance in the top order before CC’s attack dismantled the middle order in a cluster of wickets between overs 5 and 7.

What followed was one of those rare innings that changes the shape of a match on its own. Paul Zomi, batting at number 7, was not out on 83 off just 23 balls — 11 sixes, 3 fours, strike rate 360.87. He arrived at 84/6 and proceeded to take the attack apart with a ferocity that even Cyclone’s own teammates couldn’t have predicted. In the final four overs of the innings, Zomi turned what looked like a total of around 110 into an imposing 196. Without him, Cyclone’s innings ends at roughly 113. With him, they were a genuine threat.

Paul Zomi walked in at 84/6 with the match effectively over and turned a 113-all-out into 196/9. That innings — 83 not out off 23 balls, 11 sixes — gave Cyclone a target that looked very chaceable in a 13-over format. It took a Hamzad to answer it.

CC’s Bowling: Nine Wickets Shared, a Target Set Despite the Best Efforts

Faizal: Three Wickets to Break the Innings Open

Faizal was CC’s leading wicket-taker with 3/55 in 3 overs. His three wickets — Aftab (26 off 11, the danger man at three), Subhadeep RajBanshi (2), and Suraj (0, golden duck) — each came at moments that punctured Cyclone’s momentum. The economy looks high, but Faizal was bowling in the same innings as Paul Zomi’s 83 off 23: everyone conceded runs. The wickets are what created that cluster of 84/7, and Faizal’s three were the spine of it.

Golam Masud: Eight Dot Balls and Two Vital Scalps

Golam Masud’s 2/39 in 3 overs came with a stat that tells a deeper story: 8 dot balls across his spell — more than any other CC bowler. In an innings running at 15 runs per over, eight deliveries where the batter couldn’t score is the kind of relentless pressure that forces mistakes at the other end. His two wickets — New Town Sunny (8) and Vishal Jaiswal (1) — were part of that brutal middle-innings collapse that reduced Cyclone to 84/7 and set the platform for Zomi’s late assault.

Suraj Prahladka: Two Early Blows

Suraj Prahladka’s 2/44 in 3 overs provided the early wickets that started the collapse. He dismissed Rajan Singh (19, already finding his range) at 37/1 in the 2.5th over, stopping an opening stand that was building nicely. He came back to remove Sk Nadim (16) in the 12th over when Nadim looked like he might support Zomi’s late blitz. Two wickets at either end of the innings, keeping Cyclone honest throughout.

Sovandeep Biswas: The Best Economy in the Attack

The most efficient spell came from Sovandeep Biswas: 2/25 in 2 overs, economy 12.50 — the lowest economy rate in CC’s attack. He dismissed Kapil Kumar (23 off 12) and Fazal Ilahi (10 off 5), two wickets that stopped partnerships from forming around the edges of Zomi’s assault. In a match where Paul Zomi was running at 360, a 12.50 economy is exceptional control.

The Chase: Hamzad Rewrites Every Record

Chasing 197 off 13 overs requires a run-rate of over 15. In a format where 12-13 per over is competitive batting, 15+ demands that someone goes completely off-script. Hamzad didn’t just go off-script. He rewrote the entire document.

Opening the batting, Hamzad was in full flow from the first delivery. His opening partner Ashish (Toxic) fell at 42/1 in the 2.5th over, having contributed a useful 9 off 7. By that point, Hamzad had already made it clear which direction the innings was going. In the next few overs, wickets fell at the other end — Biswajeet Dey (8), Moly (6) — but Hamzad absorbed it all, accelerating every time a partner left. At 112/3 going into the 7th over, three wickets had fallen in three overs and the chase was wobbling. Hamzad responded by launching the next phase of his innings into a completely different register.

Sixteen sixes. Thirty-eight balls. That is almost a six every other delivery across the entire chase. He hit Paul Zomi (3 overs, 59 runs conceded) for boundaries at will, treated Vishal Jaiswal’s three wickets as the price of doing business elsewhere, and simply kept going. By the time CC crossed the 197 mark in the 11th over, Hamzad had scored 134 of the team’s 200 runs — 67% of the total, not out, with Golam Masud (6 off 1 ball) for company at the other end. Three batters were still to come in when the match ended. CC won with 10 balls to spare.

134 not out. 38 balls. 16 sixes. 8 fours. Strike rate 352.63. Hamzad didn’t chase 197. He consumed it. Cyclone bowled 11.2 overs — Hamzad batted through every single one of them, not out from start to finish.

Ashutosh Maurya: Captain’s Knock at the Perfect Moment

While Hamzad dominated, Ashutosh Maurya’s 29 off 9 balls was the single most important supporting contribution of the chase. He arrived at the crease at number 5 with CC on 112/3 — three wickets down in two overs, the required rate still above 15, and the chase in a fragile moment. Ashutosh came in and immediately played with the freedom and clarity the situation demanded: two fours, three sixes, strike rate 322.22. His partnership with Hamzad pushed the score from 112 to 165, a period of 53 runs in roughly two overs that effectively sealed the match. When he was caught off Subhadeep RajBanshi at 9.1 overs with the score at 165, the target was already within touching distance. His 29 in 9 balls was brief, punishing, and perfectly timed. It is the kind of innings captains make when their team needs them to just go out and hit — and he delivered exactly that.

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Cyclone — Batting (196/9 in 13.0 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
Rajan Singh	c Moly b SURAJ PRAHLADKA	19	10	1	2	190.00
Kapil Kumar	c Biswajeet Dey b Sovandeep Biswas	23	12	3	1	191.67
Aftab	c Moinur b Faizal	26	11	2	2	236.36
New Town Sunny	b Golam Masud	8	6	0	1	133.33
Subhadeep RajBanshi	c Biswajeet Dey b Faizal	2	3	0	0	66.67
Vishal Jaiswal	c Ashutosh Maurya b Golam Masud	1	2	0	0	50.00
Paul Zomi (c) (not out)	not out	83	23	3	11	360.87
Suraj	c Biswajeet Dey b Faizal	0	1	0	0	0.00
Fazal Ilahi	c Biswajeet Dey b Sovandeep Biswas	10	5	1	1	200.00
Sk Nadim	c Ashutosh Maurya b SURAJ PRAHLADKA	16	8	1	1	200.00
Badal Singh (wk) (not out)	not out	1	1	0	0	100.00
Extras (wd 3, nb 4)			7
Total: 13.0 Ov, 9 Wkts			196 (CRR 15.08)

Fall of Wickets — Cyclone

37-1 (Rajan Singh, 2.5 ov), 71-2 (Kapil Kumar, 4.4 ov), 73-3 (Aftab, 5.3 ov), 82-4 (New Town Sunny, 6.1 ov), 84-5 (Vishal Jaiswal, 6.4 ov), 84-6 (Subhadeep RajBanshi, 7.1 ov), 84-7 (Suraj, 7.2 ov), 114-8 (Fazal Ilahi, 9.1 ov), 181-9 (Sk Nadim, 12.2 ov)

Bowling — Calcutta Challengers

Bowler	O	M	R	W	WD	NB	Eco
SURAJ PRAHLADKA	3	0	44	2	0	0	14.67
Moly	2	0	33	0	1	1	16.50
⭐ Sovandeep Biswas — Best Economy	2	0	25	2	0	2	12.50
Faizal — Top Wicket-Taker	3	0	55	3	2	0	18.33
Golam Masud — 8 dots	3	0	39	2	0	1	13.00

Calcutta Challengers — Batting (200/7 in 11.2 Ov)

Batsman	Status	R	B	4s	6s	SR
🏆 Hamzad (not out)	not out	134	38	8	16	352.63
Ashish (Toxic)	c Subhadeep RajBanshi b Jr. Sandip	9	7	0	1	128.57
Biswajeet Dey	c Paul Zomi b Vishal Jaiswal	8	6	0	1	133.33
Moly	c Badal Singh b Vishal Jaiswal	6	3	0	1	200.00
Ashutosh Maurya	c Suraj b Subhadeep RajBanshi	29	9	2	3	322.22
Shankar Newtown (c)	b Subhadeep RajBanshi	0	1	0	0	0.00
Sovandeep Biswas	c New Town Sunny b Vishal Jaiswal	1	2	0	0	50.00
Faizal	c †Badal Singh b New Town Sunny	1	3	0	0	33.33
Golam Masud (not out)	not out	6	1	0	1	600.00
Extras (wd 4, nb 2)			6
Total: 11.2 Ov, 7 Wkts			200 (CRR 17.65)

Yet to bat: Samrat, Moinur, Suraj Prahladka

Fall of Wickets — Calcutta Challengers

42-1 (Ashish Toxic, 2.5 ov), 104-2 (Biswajeet Dey, 6.2 ov), 112-3 (Moly, 6.4 ov), 165-4 (Ashutosh Maurya, 9.1 ov), 165-5 (Shankar Newtown, 9.2 ov), 177-6 (Sovandeep Biswas, 10.1 ov), 194-7 (Faizal, 11.1 ov)

Bowling — Cyclone

Bowler	O	M	R	W	WD	NB	Eco
Jr. Sandip	3	0	46	1	3	0	15.33
Paul Zomi (c)	3	0	59	0	0	0	19.67
⭐ Vishal Jaiswal — Best Bowler	2	0	35	3	1	1	17.50
Subhadeep RajBanshi	3	0	54	2	0	1	18.00
New Town Sunny	0.2	0	6	1	0	0	18.00

Result

Calcutta Challengers won by 3 wickets — Cyclone 196/9 (13.0 Ov); CC 200/7 (11.2 Ov) chasing 197

• Man of the Match: Hamzad — 134* (38b, 8×4, 16×6, SR 352.63) 🏆
• Captain’s Innings: Ashutosh Maurya — 29 (9b, 2×4, 3×6, SR 322.22)
• Leading Wicket-Taker: Faizal — 3/55 (3 Ov)
• Pressure Bowling: Golam Masud — 2/39 (3 Ov, 8 dot balls)
• Most Economical: Sovandeep Biswas — 2/25 (2 Ov, Eco 12.50)
• Key Wickets: Suraj Prahladka — 2/44 (3 Ov)
• Cyclone’s Lone Star: Paul Zomi — 83* (23b, 3×4, 11×6, SR 360.87) — in a losing cause

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